Selfless Love

Happy Mother's Day Maxi

Rudis and one other maidservant came in around noon to remove the tray. The commotion woke the children who sat up slightly startled. Rudis apologized but Maxi brushed it off, saying it was time for them to wake up and not sleep the day away.

"Andrew?" Riftan asked.

"Yes Dad?" he answered.

"Don't you and your sister have something for your mother?" Riftan asked.

"Yes!" Andrew said happily, "I'll be right back!"

He practically leapt off the bed and ran out of the room, heading down the hall towards the direction of his room.

He came back with two small canvases. He carried them backwards so as to not ruin the surprise.

"We painted these for you Mommy!" Victoria squealed excitedly.

Andrew walked over to the bed and set the canvases face down before moving to the other side to climb back onto the bed.

Maxi carefully flipped over the canvases.

"That one's mine!" Victoria said excitedly.

Her daughter pointed to the canvas on the left. She had painted what Maxi assumed was supposed to be her three cats, represented by the three patches of white, brown, and black, on the canvas. The small shapes did not match the anatomy of the felines but the colors were nearly spot on.

"What's this blue shape here?" Maxi asked as she pointed to a small round shape near the bottom of the canvas.

"They're playing with some yarn." Victoria said cheerfully.

Maxi smiled at her daughter proudly before turning her gaze to the second canvas.

Bright blues and greens took up most of the frame. There was a small patch of red, yellow and purple across the bottom of the canvas. Flowers maybe. At the top steep triangles jutted out above the mass of blue. Though it lacked some of the finer details she would recognize those mountains anywhere, the mountains of Anatol. The large blue area must be the lake they loved and had spent many warm summer days enjoying together as a family.

"I love it!" Maxi said as she turned to face her son.

"They are beautiful!" she said with a smile as she turned to look at Victoria.

Maxi got up and walked across the room with a canvas in each hand. She set them down on her dresser leaning them against the wall so she could see them every day.

She turned around to face the bed and saw her children beaming with pride as they had watched their mother put their hard work on display. She knelt down and opened her arms wide in invitation. Andrew scrambled off the bed while Riftan helped Victoria get down. The two children raced across the room and ran straight into their mother's warm embrace. She kissed the tops of each of their heads and hugged them tight.

"Thank you," she whispered.

After a long hug, the children stepped back while their mother stood up.

Andrew began glancing around the room as though he were looking for something.

"What are you looking for, son?" Riftan asked.

"Where's your present for Mom?" the young boy asked.

"I will give your mother my gift later." he responded plainly. Instead of leaving it at that, allowing the silence to let Maximilian's mind wander as she wondered what her gift could possibly be, he spoke again. "How about we saddle up the horses and go for a ride around the castle, just the four of us?"